Vice-President Javier Zanetti says Liverpool's Mario Balotelli can have 'an amazing career', while Mauro Icardi is 'crucial' to Inter.
The Italy international was signed by Liverpool for €20m from Milan, but has failed to make a dent back in the Premier League so far.
Zanetti, who captained the Nerazzurri at the time of Super Mario's debut with his side, still has fond memories of the player.
Vice-President Javier Zanetti says Liverpool's Mario Balotelli can have 'an amazing career', while Mauro Icardi is 'crucial' to Inter.
The Italy international was signed by Liverpool for €20m from Milan, but has failed to make a dent back in the Premier League so far.
Zanetti, who captained the Nerazzurri at the time of Super Mario's debut with his side, still has fond memories of the player.
“With Mario, we accomplished very important things,” he said to CNN World Sports. “I think that when he was with us, he was very young.
"Surely he still has a lot of things to give. I hope he is going to find the correct path, because he can have an amazing career.
“Mario wasn't aware of his qualities and he realised too late once he was out of Inter.
“Mario is a guy that everybody loved, everybody here tried to protect him because we knew that if we did, he could have a great career.”
The 41-year-old was less doubtful about the future of fellow Argentine Mauro Icardi, who is affirming himself with the Nerazzurri.
“Icardi is very young, he has a lot of potential and he's a great striker. He has a bright future on the horizon and hopefully he will stay on this track.
“I believe that in this squad, he has a crucial role to play and I'm sure it's going to be like that in the future as well.
“We need to protect him, we need to teach him. He needs to realize he's at a great club like Inter Milan and by doing this he will always do better.”